H.R. 1429 - Letter of Estimated Annual Debt for Students Act of 2017 (LEADS Act)

Sep 16, 2026

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H.R. 1429 amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require eligible institutions to provide enrolled students who receive education loans with an annual estimate of student loan borrowing costs. Beginning July 1, 2019, institutions must deliver a written cost estimate at least 30 days before each academic year, including cumulative balances, projected monthly payments under a standard repayment schedule, applicable interest rates or specified averaging rules, and a prominent disclaimer that the information is an estimate. The bill also sets formats and liability limits, and requires the Secretary of Education to provide templates, technical assistance, approvals, projection formulas, and secure encryption options.

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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

Letter of Estimated Annual Debt for Students Act of 2017 - LEADS Act of 2017

SEC. 2. ANNUAL ESTIMATE OF STUDENT LOAN BORROWING COSTS

Timing and eligibility (July 1, 2019; notice 30 days before academic year)

Contents of estimate (balances, projected monthly payments, interest rates, disclaimer)

Form of estimate and delivery method

Limitation of liability

Secretary-provided student debt letter templates and technical assistance

Definitions

SEC. 3. ANNUAL PROVISION OF INFORMATION BY THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION

I 115TH CONGR1ST SESSIOENSS H. R. 1429 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to provide students with annual estimates of student loan borrowing costs. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 8, 2017 Mr. MESSER (for himself, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. ROKITA, and Ms. MCSALLY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to provide students with annual estimates of student loan borrowing costs. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Letter of Estimated 5 Annual Debt for Students Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘LEADS 6 Act of 2017’’. 2 1 SEC. 2. ANNUAL ESTIMATE OF STUDENT LOAN BORROWING 2 COSTS. 3 Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 4 U. S.C. 1092) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘(n) ANNUAL ESTIMATE OF STUDENT LOAN BOR- 7 ROWING COSTS.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on July 1, 2019, 9 each eligible institution shall provide a cost estimate 10 described in paragraph (2) to each enrolled student 11 who receives an education loan to attend the institu- 12 tion, not later than 30 days before the first day of 13 each academic year beginning after the academic 14 year for which the student first received such a loan 15 to attend such institution. 16 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF ESTIMATE.—The estimate 17 under paragraph (1) shall contain the following in- 18 formation: 19 ‘‘(A) CUMULATIVE BALANCES AND MONTH- 20 LY PAYMENTS.—A notice to the student of— 21 ‘‘(i) the cumulative balance of edu- 22 cation loans owed by the student as of the 23 date of the notice; and 24 ‘‘(ii) projected monthly payment 25 amounts based on the cumulative balances 3 1 described in clause (i), assuming a stand- 2 ard repayment schedule. 3 ‘‘(B) INTEREST RATES.—The interest rate 4 of each education loan, except that interest 5 rates for a private education loan may be based 6 on average private education loan interest rates 7 if the institution cannot reasonably determine 8 the actual interest rate of such loan. 9 ‘‘(C) DISCLAIMER.—A clear and con- 10 spicuous notice stating that any information 11 provided under paragraph (1) is an estimate, 12 accurate to the best of the institution’s knowl- 13 edge, and that an interest rate provided under 14 subparagraph (B)— 15 ‘‘(i) in the case of a loan described in 16 paragraph (6)(A)(i), is the applicable rate 17 of interest of such loan; 18 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a private education 19 loan, may be based on average private edu- 20 cation loan interest rates; and 21 ‘‘(iii) does not include private edu- 22 cation loans of which the institution is not 23 aware. 24 ‘‘(3) FORM OF ESTIMATE.—The estimate under 25 paragraph (1) shall be— 4 1 ‘‘(A) provided to the student in hard copy 2 format on the letterhead of the institution, by 3 electronic mail or by another method the Sec- 4 retary may prescribe; and 5 ‘‘(B) delivered to the student separately 6 from any other disclosures required under this 7 Act. 8 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.—An institution 9 that provides the estimate under paragraph (1) in 10 good faith shall not be liable to any person for inac- 11 curacies contained in such estimate. 12 ‘‘(5) STUDENT DEBT LETTER TEMPLATE.—Not 13 later than July 1, 2018, and as necessary thereafter, 14 the Secretary shall provide the following to eligible 15 institutions: 16 ‘‘(A) Examples of estimates required under 17 paragraph (2) . 18 ‘‘(B) Technical assistance on how to com- 19 ply with the requirements of this subsection. 20 ‘‘(C) Preliminary approvals in a timely 21 manner of estimate formats proposed for use

FAQs

What is the purpose of H.R. 1429?

It amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions to provide students with annual estimates of education loan borrowing costs.

When must institutions start providing the annual loan cost estimates?

Beginning July 1, 2019, each eligible institution must provide the estimate not later than 30 days before the first day of each academic year after the student first received the loan.

What information must be included in the student’s annual estimate?

The estimate must include cumulative loan balances and projected monthly payment amounts based on a standard repayment schedule, applicable interest rates (with limited rules for private loans), and a clear conspicuous disclaimer that the information is an estimate.

Sep 16, 2026

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